If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Personal "Pre-Shift Inspection"

It’s 0400, your alarm clock rattles you out of a sound sleep, and your day has begun. Rolling out of bed, you groggily wander to the commode to wash your face, brush your teeth and run a comb through the mop on your head.

Returning to your bedroom; you don your uniform, slide on your watch and rings, pull on your boots and head for the door. When you reach the door, you perform “the Frisk.” As you give yourself a thorough groping, you run through the mental checklist. “Keys? Check. Cellphone? Check. Pocket knife <or multitool>? Check. Wallet? Check.” And off you go, but alas, one item was overlooked: A positive & professional attitude.

Before leaving your driveway every day, you should be checking your attitude. Ask yourself “Am I in the right frame of mind? Am I going to show up at work with a smile on my face, a pleasant deportment? Am I dismayed to be going to work, or am I happy that my shift has started?”

More questions to ask are: “Am I bringing personal problems to work with me?” “Will I let someone put me in a bad mood?” To quote an upright man, sublime manager, and a personal role model: “We choose our mood.” If some numpty doesn’t understand the concept of Right-Of-Way and almost clips you at a 4-Way, sure, you’re going to get mad and maybe let loose a few choice words; but you don’t have to be a grump all day because of it.

The first thing we are taught is that our presence is our first and primary “tool.” A clean uniform, personal hygiene, and deportment. You will accomplish very little, if anything, if you are apathetic, lazy, or grumpy. Furthermore, you also have co-workers, a client, and an employer. If you want a favourable working environment, it is best to treat the former 2 with respect and act professional; and if you intend to stay with the latter for any length of time, you best act like you want to be there and that you deserve to be there.

Be courteous, be professional, be empathetic, be sympathetic, have a positive attitude & stay safe.

"If somebody gets in your face and calls you a ----sucker, I want you to be nice. Ask him to walk. Be nice. If he won't walk, walk him. But be nice. If you can't walk him, one of the others will help you, and you'll both be nice. I want you to remember that it's a job. It's nothing personal."<--Patrick Swayze, Roadhouse.

"If somebody gets in your face and calls you a ----sucker, I want you to be nice. Ask him to walk. Be nice. If he won't walk, walk him. But be nice. If you can't walk him, one of the others will help you, and you'll both be nice. I want you to remember that it's a job. It's nothing personal."<--Patrick Swayze, Roadhouse.

It takes one person on the team, with a negative attitude, to make your whole operation negative. Having a positive team benefits everyone involved and makes for a productive and successful workplace. Great advise to for everyone to keep in mind.